Hilton Head Christian Academy
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Music

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” – Johann Sebastian Bach

At Hilton Head Christian Academy, our music department encourages children and young adults to glorify God through excellence and truly cherish the gift of music. We aim to produce well-rounded music students that sing, play various instruments and worship with the natural talents that they have been given.  They are instructed in basic and intermediate musical concepts with our general music curriculum in grades K-5.  Our band and choral programs begin in the upper grades of lower school and continue through 12th grade. We have several ensembles that perform through out the year including the:

  • 4th Grade Bandus-chorus
  • 5-6 Band
  • MS/US Concert Band
  • Pep Band / Drumline
  • Eagles Jazz Band
  • LS Chorus
  • MS Chorus
  • US Chorus

Students are also encouraged to participate in our worship arts team, which involves our praise band, sound technicians and student media coordinators. Our musical students at Hilton Head Christian Academy are often seen performing in chapel, community, school or drama performances or competing at regional competitions.  Our growing music program can always use your support, so feel free to contact us to see how you can be involved.

Faculty

Berry-2James Berry
B.M.  Gordon College M.M. Boise State University

Although this is his third year as MS/US music director at Hilton Head Christian Academy, James Berry has been a music educator since 2001 and a musician for most of his life.  At a young age, Mr. Berry pursued both piano and trumpet following in the musical footsteps of his late father Eric, founding conductor of the Casco Bay Concert Band in Portland, Maine.  Mr. Berry went on to pursue a degree in music education at Gordon College where he studied piano with Dr. Alina Polyakov of Boston Conservatory.  He has won several honors and competitions on the piano, recently in 2006 as the graduate winner for the Boise State Symphonic Concerto Competition in Idaho.  In the past summers, he worked on the staff of the prestigious Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine and co-founded the Mountain Top Music summer jazz camp in North Conway, NH.   Mr. Berry has been featured on several vocal, classical, bluegrass and jazz recordings including his recent solo live recital album Reflections.  He is also co-founder of the website ilearnmusic.com, which aims to provide free music education video lessons and resources worldwide.  In May 2010, Mr. Berry will perform at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City singing with a select choir under the direction of his colleague Dr. Giselle Wyers.

General Music
In fifth grade only, general music meets three times a week for one semester.  Students learn exciting concepts, discovering all of the instruments, singing, listening, composing and studying the great musicians of the past.  They also explore music from around the world along with studying our own American music.  Many assignments are project-based and include integration with music technology.

Band Pep-band-09
Beginning in fourth grade, students have the option to join the HHCA band program.  In fourth grade, students work to build basic proficiency on their instrument through weekly practice and rehearsals.   We use the respected Standard of Excellence band method by Bruce Pearson and 4th graders have an opportunity to perform at the Christmas and spring concerts. In MS and US band, students meet at least twice a week for a regular period of band class.  Our students focus on achieving personal musical goals of a higher ability and are expected to practice on a daily basis.  As an ensemble class, we emphasize the fundamentals of instrumental music including blend, balance, tone, intonation, and technique.  We study, practice and perform several styles of music to create versatile musicians. All MS/US band students will participate either the 5-6 band or the combined concert band.  They will also have the option of being part of the Eagles Jazz Band or Pep Band / Drumline.  Our band ensembles perform at all of the school concerts, home varsity football / basketball games, community concerts and SCISA / Carowinds competitions.    This year, our students are strongly encouraged to participate in our SmartMusic program.  This incredibly affordable advance in music technology allows our band students to practice at home and choose from over 20,000 pieces of music including live accompaniment.  This practice tool is an invaluable asset to a serious music student’s repertoire and pursuit of excellence.

Chorus
Although singing is an integral part of our general music curriculum, students are strongly encouraged to join the chorus beginning in either lower or middle school.  Students in lower school have the opportunity to join the LS chorus, which meets as a club after school on Mondays from 2:40-3:30pm.  This ensemble is open to all third and fourth graders who love to sing and share their beautiful music.  The LS chorus performs at all school concerts and the book fair kickoff at Barnes and Noble in November.  Students in LS chorus learn basic vocal technique and also have the opportunity to perform solos for our community performances.   In middle and upper school chorus, we aim to achieve a higher level of choral singing by emphasizing a more developed vocal technique, tone, diction, and ensemble blend.  Both ensembles meet twice a week during their respective activity periods.  Both ensembles also perform at all of the school concerts, community performances, SCISA and Carowinds competitions and select chapel events. We sing a variety of musical styles ranging from classical sacred music to jazz/broadway standards or world music.

Worship Arts
As a private Christian preparatory school, our music students learn that music is a gift from God and a reflection of worship.  This principle is most evident in our worship arts team, which consists of the praise band, sound technicians and media coordinators.  Our two praise bands in middle and upper school are made up of highly dedicated students who provide the worship music for our chapel services on a weekly basis.  This ensemble reaches out to the non-band instrumentalists such as guitarists, drummers, violinists and bass players.  Our vocalists love singing for the Lord and have an incredible dedication to worship music.  Our student sound technicians make sure that the ensemble mixes well for the chapel service on a weekly basis.  Our media coordinators display various media elements on the projector screen during the chapel services and are an important part of our collaborative worship.